People

With excitement mounting - well, possibly - over the outcome of the Labour deputy leadership election,
Hazel Blears, seems to be winning endorsements, if not from MPs at least from party-supporting celebrities. It might be expected that Salford's diminutive MP should garner the support of
Liz Dawn and
Bev Callard from Coronation Street and
Pete Postlethwaite, currently playing Prospero down the road in Manchester, but she's also secured the backing of
Tony Booth, the prime minister's father-in-law: an accolade indeed. By contrast,
Tony Robinson's support for
Jon Cruddas and
Richard Wilson's for
Peter Hain appear anaemic, glamour-wise.

A sure sign that the social acceptability of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, proceeds apace was Madame Tussaud's announcement yesterday that she is finally joining the rest of the royal family as a waxworks dummy. Hitherto her status has not been recognised but she has now agreed to sit for the modellers, according to the company's PR manager Ben Lovett, by public acclamation. It has not been disclosed whether, like Prince Charles's latest model, she will be environmentally friendly, being made from recycled material, but she will be joining the rest of the royal family in their tableau.

Sir Sean Connery has been getting hot under the sporran with the Scottish Tourist Board for supporting the green Scottish-accented ogre Shrek in his latest film while refusing funding for his own project, a much more low budget affair called Sir Billi the Vet, due for release next year. The Scots Nats' most famous celebrity tax exile says he is shocked that the board has spurned such an "innovative project with such immense Scottish talent". To add insult to injury, VisitScotland has even developed a tartan for Shrek, who is voiced by the Canadian actor Mike Myers. Its spokeswoman said: "We have been working on Shrek because it is a major Hollywood production that is going to give us PR around the world."

David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, wisely retreated with his wife on holiday to France to avoid the hype surrounding the final episode in the US. The downbeat, inconclusive ending to the Mafia epic left many fans fuming. Chase has however broken his silence to the local Star-Ledger of New Jersey. "I have no interest in explaining. No one was trying to blow people's minds or thinking, 'wow, this will tick them off'. People get the impression you are trying to mess with them and it's not true. You're trying to entertain them."